DAILY NOTES OF CURRENT AFFAIRS

·        Australia's highest court terms same sex marriage illegal unless law is made by Federal Parliament in this regard.

It said that the Marriage Act doesnot provides for such marriages and therefore unless Australian federal Parliament, and not state and territorial authorities, provides for it by law, it remains illegal.

Recently EU nation Croatia rejected same-sex marriage in a referendum in December 2013 while UK is all set to legalise same sex marriage by enabling its registration.

·        Kenya celebrates 50 years of its independence from British colonial rule since 1895.

First President Jomo Kenyatta (his son Uhuru Kenyatta is the curret President but is a undertrial in International Criminal Court).

·        Government constitutes an Expert Committee to review the National Textile Policy 2000 ; to suggest amendments and formulate next policy i.e National Textile Policy 2013.

·        Indian Government to go for third aircraft carrier, to be named INS Vikrant, after induction of INS Vikramaditya and Viraat into Indian Navy.

INS Vikrant is currently under construction at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi.

·        Russia's president Vladimir Putin shuts Government owned news agency Ria Novosti and replaces it with new news agency called "Rossiya Segodnya" (Russia Today).

The new agency would focus on "coverage abroad of Russian state policy and public life" with multilingual services as a way of "raising efficiency of state media resources,".

Dmitry Kiselyov would head the agency

·        International Olympic Committee (IOC) refuses to lift suspension of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) until it conducts fresh elections for its office-bearers under agreed guidelines of IOC which bars chargesheeted persons from fighting elections.  

IOC suspended IOA for reasons like : Its failure to comply with the Olympic Charter and its statutes, failure to inform the IOC in a timely manner and against Government interference in the IOA’s election process.

Earlier this month IOA agreed to amend its constitution as per IOC’s guidelines particularly on the issue of keeping charge-framed sportspersons out of IOA elections.

If the suspension is not lifted , Indian contingent to IOC events would have to play under Olympic Flag (can't represent Indian Flag). This situation could well arise for Indian contingent for Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics 2014 to be held in February 2014.

·        Foreign Policy magazine's "Global Thinkers of 2013" list : Arvind Kejriwal (32nd Rank); Urvashi Butalia and Kavita Krishnan (77th rank, campaigning gainst sexual violence in India).

• Government of Democratic Republic of Congo signs deal for peace talks with M23 rebels (ethnic Tutsi-led rebels who are fighting in mineral rich eastern DRC) in Nairobi (Kenya).

The deal follows their agreement for talks in October 2013 following heavy defeats of M23 rebels in the hands government and UN Peacekeeping Forces (world's largest).

Once part of the army, M23 rebelled in 2012 accusing government of not honouring a 2009 peace deal.

DRC and UN blames neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Uganda of supporting M23, a fact denied by both.

• Bangladesh executes Abdul Quader Mollah, assistant secretary general of Jamaat-e-Islami, convicted by war crimes tribunal for genocide and mass rape during the Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971 from Pkistan.  

He is first of the 10 convicted so far, and sentenced for life imprisonment or death, by a War Crime Tribunal set up by the ruling Awami League to try those who had violently opposed Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in liberation war of 1971.

Jammat-e-islami party sided with Pakistani forces in opposing the movement and resorted to violence against pro-independence forces.

• Japan and South Korea conducts their biennial naval drill in East China Sea ; region falls within the recently declared Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) of China.

Leodo reef : South Korea controls it but disputed by China (falls in the exclusive economic zones /EEZ and air defence zones of both China and South Korea).

• The G8 Dementia Summit sets 2025 as target to tacle dementia (loss of memory) , to increase research funding to tacle diseases like Alzheimer's and all other forms of dementia.

Globally around 44 million people are estimated to have some form of dementia which is expected to increase to 135 million by 2050.

• ICC annual awards : Cheteshwar Pujara ‘Emerging Cricketer of the Year while Michael Clarke ICC Cricketer and Test Cricketer of the Year.
• Somalia's president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud appoints Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed as new prime minister replacing Abdi Farah Shirdon.

Appointment follows the loss of no-confidence vote in Parliamnet by Abdi Farah Shirdon who had disagreement with President over cabinet appointments.

Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed will be 2nd PM in 14 months

Somalia -: Horn of Africa (due to countrie's geographical shape on map) ; Villa Somalia :- presidential palace in capital Mogadishu

·        Lt Gen Dalbir Singh appointed Vice Army Chief of India; to succeed Lt Gen S K Singh as such at the end of December 2013. He is also expected to take over as the next Army Chief after Gen Bikram Singh retirement due next year.

·        European Union grants 'Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) - Plus' status to Pakistan. The deal will give exporters, mostly from textile industry, a duty free access to the market of 27 European Countries. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka already have this status.

·        Government clears amendments in 'Code of Conduct for Ministers' to prevent the misuse of bureaucracy by them, both at the Centre and in thestates.  Ministers now can not force civil servants to take steps which are deemed to be in conflict with their duties and responsibilities. This is the 2nd amendment to this Code of Conduct which came into being in 1964. 

·        D. Tikku, Chairman of NDDB Dairy Services, conferred on the '10th biennial Dr Kurien Award' for his contribution to the development andresearch of dairy industry in the country by the Indian Dairy Association (IDA).

·        The world's largest retailer Walmart appoints Krish Iyer as the President and CEO of its India operation w.e.f  January 2014.  

·        Shah Rukh Khan tops the 2nd edition of 'Forbes India’s Top 100 Celebrity List' for second year running. He is followed in the ranking byMahendra Singh Dhoni, Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Amitabh Bachchan respectively.